To combat trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis, researchers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and collaborators conducted a study focusing on pteridine reductase 1 (PTR1), a catalytic protein crucial to the folate metabolic pathway in Trypanosomatid parasites.
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the vector-borne parasites Trypanosoma brucei gambiens or Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense. Despite the recent approval of fexinidazole, novel antitrypanosomal agents are needed to attain its targeted eradication by 2030.
Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have shown a possible beneficial role for muscle wasting in mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei, a parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. The team assessed the impact of both fat and muscle wasting on survival of mice with T. brucei infection. They found that while fat wasting appeared to have no impact on survival, mice that were unable to undergo muscle wasting died more quickly from the infection than those that experienced muscle loss.
Bayer AG’s Lampit (nifurtimox) to treat Chagas disease in pediatric patients, approved by the FDA on Friday, is an oral, antiprotozoal medication for newborns to patients under 18, who weigh at least 2.5 kg and are diagnosed with Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi.